Schaub, Texans top Chiefs

Sep 9, 2007, 20:15 GMT

Houston, TX - Matt Schaub passed for 225 yards with a touchdown as the Houston Texans opened the season with a 20-3 win over the Kansas City Chiefs at Reliant Stadium.

Schaub, making his Texans regular-season debut, finished 16-of-22 passing and was intercepted once. Andre Johnson pulled in seven passes for 142 yards, including a touchdown and 2006 first overall draft pick Mario Williams had a 38-yard fumble return for a touchdown and two sacks for Houston (1-0).

Ahman Green chipped in with 73 yards rushing on 16 carries and Kris Brown added a pair of field goals for the Texans.

Damon Huard threw for 168 yards on 22-of-33 passing and was intercepted twice for Kansas City (0-1). Larry Johnson was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries and caught seven passes for 44 yards for the Chiefs. Tony Gonzalez was held to 28 yards on five catches.

After the Houston offense went three-and-out to start the game, the Chiefs got the ball on their own 12-yard line and mounted an effective drive behind Huard, who guided the offense down to the Texans 12. Following a failed third- and-three conversion, Justin Medlock was sent out to try and convert a 30-yard field-goal, but the left-footed kicker missed wide left.

The Texans attempted to take advantage of the KC miscue and moved the ball with ease, taking nearly five minutes of the first-quarter clock. Schaub connected with Jacoby Jones for 26 yards on a key third-down conversion and four plays later hit Johnson for 15 more, advancing the ball to the KC 25. After Ron Dayne ran for a minimal gain, Schaub's pass intended for Johnson in the end zone was picked off by Jarrad Page to halt the drive.

Brown's 26-yard field goal midway through the second quarter gave the Texans an early lead after Chiefs' returner Eddie Drummond fumbled a punt that led to the first points of the contest.

'The turnovers are going to be hard to overcome and with the inability to score points, you're just not going to win,' Chiefs head coach Herman Edwards said. 'We needed to settle down and not self-destruct.'

Schaub connected with Johnson on a 77-yard touchdown with 6:01 left in the first half following a Kansas City punt, giving the Texans a 10-0 lead, which they held at intermission.

'I think it is important to go out and play efficient and manage the game well and to execute our game plan, and to come out with a victory is ultimately what our goal is,' Schaub said. 'We succeeded today in being a good football team.'

The Chiefs got the ball to start the third period, but the offense continued to sputter. Huard hit Kris Wilson for a short gain on a third-and-seven play, but the wideout coughed up the ball and Williams picked it up and rumbled 38 yards for a score to make it 17-0.

Medlock's 27-yard field goal with 26 seconds remaining in the third stanza, capped an 11-play, 63-yard drive to get KC within 17-3.

Houston responded by marching 65 yards in 15 plays, taking more than 10 minutes off the clock. The drive ended on a 28-yard field goal by Brown to give the Texans a 20-3 advantage.

Game Notes

DeMeco Ryans finished with eight total tackles for the Texans...KC had 219 total yards of offense, while Houston had 315...Chiefs WR Eddie Kennison left the game with a hamstring injury on the first Kansas City play from scrimmage and did not return...The Texans will play at the Carolina Panthers next Sunday, while the Chiefs will travel to Chicago to take on the Bears. Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez extended his franchise-record streak of consecutive games with a reception to 100 contests. That 100-game streak is the second- longest compiled by a tight end in NFL history, trailing only the 150-game streak established by former Cleveland Brown Ozzie Newsome.

© 2007 The Sports Network

Game Notes

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